Remember a few weeks back when I made coconut cream pie french toast? Well, this vegan mashed potatoes recipe came from the same place of inspiration: while I was working out watching the Food Network. Apparently, it’s my zen place.
Tyler Florence was making a version of mashed potatoes I’d never seen before. He cooked the potatoes in whole milk and cream to produce the creamiest, must luxurious mashed potatoes I’d ever laid eyes on. Obviously, I can’t do dairy because it hates me. So I wanted to try a vegan version to see if it worked sans cream.
Turns out, if you cook potatoes in unsweetened plain almond milk, it really just makes them kind of mealy and they taste like almond milk. Yick. Back to the drawing board. NOW YOU KNOW.
Another few attempts at the best damn vegan mashers yielded massive success. It turns out, you don’t need to cook them in anything other than plain old water. It’s the type of potatoes and mix-ins that make all the difference.
These mashers require 5 simple ingredients:
Yukon gold potatoes
Vegan butter
Roasted garlic (hubba. hubba)
Sea Salt
& Black Pepper
The result is super creamy, luxurious, dairy free mashed potatoes with a sweet garlic tone, plenty of S+P, and an herbaceous, light touch from the chives. Give me a spoon, I’m going in.
You will love these taters. They’re:
Thick
Fluffy
Creamy
Buttery
Airy light
Garlicky
Herbaceous
& Altogether satisfying
These mashed potatoes are perfection with a little additional vegan butter, salt, pepper and chives. But they would definitely stand up to and pair well with my 6-Ingredient Mushroom Gravy.
I also intended to make these into potato pancakes (inspired by the Inquiring Chef), but they just never made it that far. I literally ate half of them off of that spoon. OOPS. Sorry but not.
Enjoy!
What Goes with Mashed Potatoes
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
The Best Damn Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6-8 medium yukon gold potatoes (if large, cut in half)*
- 1 tsp sea salt (divided)
- Water to cover
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 5-6 cloves raw or roasted garlic (or sub minced garlic sautéed for 3 minutes in olive oil)*
- 3-4 Tbsp vegan butter (such as Earth Balance // melted/softened)
- 1/4 cup fresh chives (for topping // optional)
Instructions
- For creamier mashed potatoes, peel your potatoes at this time. Otherwise, just halve your potatoes and place in a large saucepan or pot and cover with water by ~1 inch.
- Bring to a light boil over high heat and add 1 tsp of sea salt (as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size), and cook for 25-30 minutes or until very tender. They should effortlessly slide off a knife when pierced with a knife.
- While the potatoes are cooking, chop up your chives (optional) and measure your vegan butter.
- Once tender, drain your potatoes and place them back in the hot pot off the heat for 1 minute to evaporate any additional water.
- Mash your potatoes using a potato masher until fluffy.
- Add in vegan butter, garlic, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Lastly top with chives (optional, stir and serve as is or with your favorite gravy (or mushroom gravy). Leftovers will keep in the fridge covered for up to a few days. Not freezer friendly.
Video
Notes
*To roast a head of garlic, simply cup the top off to expose tips, rub with olive oil, wrap in foil and bake for 50 minutes – 1 hour in a 400-degree F (204 C) oven directly on the rack. Cloves should squeeze out easily once cooled. Discard skins/peel.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with 6 yukon gold potatoes and the lesser amount of Earth Balance vegan butter.
Elia says
I want to make this, but the recipe mentions “5-6 cloves raw or roasted garlic” and no instructions on how to use the cloves raw, do I cut them? do I just add them whole?
Hi Elia, sorry for the confusion! If using raw garlic, mince the garlic and sauté in olive oil for 3 minutes before adding it in step 6. If using roasted garlic, keep it whole and see the notes section for instructions.
Kiri says
Still confusing as no step 8. How do you incorporate the garlic once roasted?
Gah, sorry about that! That should have said step 6. After roasting the garlic, remove it from the skins/peels and stir it in, or mash with a potato masher if it’s not breaking apart when stirring. Hope that helps!
Gail Gill says
Have you ever held them in a crock pot to keep warm?
Hi Gail, we haven’t, but it should work well on the low or warm setting.
Kayla says
What is the best way to reheat after making ahead?
Hi Kayla, it’s best to reheat in the microwave or covered in the oven, adding a little extra vegan butter to keep them moist. Hope that helps!
Barrett says
Would i be able to add olive oil after the butter to make them not so dry?
Sure, as long as you don’t mind the stronger flavor it contributes!
Antonio Peeler says
They came out dry. What can I do now to make them more moist and creamy
Sorry to hear that, Antonio! You can add more vegan butter or a neutral-flavored milk of choice (such as unsweetened plain almond milk). Or if you have any leftover water from cooking the potatoes, add that. Hope that helps!
Jennifer says
About how many pounds of potatoes is “5-6 medium?”
Hi Jennifer, it’s about 3-4 pounds. Enjoy!